Improvisation Chapter

Improvisation Chapter – February 11, 2021 Part One 1) List and briefly describe the three basic musical concepts evident in all styles of improvisation (through history and across cultures). The three basic musical concepts evident in all styles of improvisation are repetition, contrast, and variation. Repetition occurs when there are repeated sounds or patterns of music in the piece. Contrast refers to the difference in the piece itself, maybe a different instrument sound or a changing tempo. Variation is something in between repetition and contrast, this is what makes the music unpredictable to listen to because there are some variations to the sound. 2) Name the section of music within a classical concerto where improvisation takes place. Cadenza is the section within the concerto which allowed for an extensive improvisation by the featured performer. 3) Improvisation occurs in many places besides music. Can you think of ways that you improvise in your life? From my personal experience with the Business Presentation class here at Kelley, you cannot plan everything for your presentation. As much as we want it to go as planned, there will always be surprises every time we present that we should improvise along the way. Improvisation is so critical in a business presentation that it was even part of an assignment. Our first presentation as a group was set up in a way that requires everyone in the team to improvise. At the time, the challenge for my team was that we cannot use our PowerPoint slides to present. Therefore, I must present all the points without the slides, conveying the main points that I remember on top of my head. Part Two 1. Concerto for Lute RV 93 - Vivaldi a. I hear multiple instruments while listening to this piece such as the guitar, violin, and cello. A typical venue to play this piece will be the concert hall considering the number of musicians required to play this piece. This is my first time hearing this piece and I enjoy listening to this piece because of its flowing rhythm. This piece has a polyphonic texture in which there are multiple melodies from different instruments playing at the same time. The vivace tempo is what makes this music enjoyable for me as it flows well throughout the piece. Besides that, I can hear the guitar timbre when it is playing, the pluck sound is different from the other two instruments. There are some repetitions going on in this piece, which is one of the concepts evident in improvisation. 2. Muir Woods Suite (Montreux 1993) - George Duke a. This is my first time hearing this piece and is also another piece that I enjoy from the assigned playlist. I can also hear multiple elements in this piece such as the piano, violin, cello, clarinet. A typical venue to play this piece will be the concert hall considering the number of musicians as well as the number of different instruments involved in this piece. In this piece, the piano is the main melody playing and the other instruments add different layers of music or complement the piano beautifully. The majority of the piece’s tempo is allegro which makes it still enjoyable but slows down towards the end of this piece. The pianist also included some repetition and variations to the rhythm played which again shows the creativity of the leading pianist in improvising while playing this piece. 3. Straight, No Chaser - Thelonious Monk a. Multiple instruments are included in this piece such as the piano, drum, and the saxophone. The piece starts off with the meter continued with the piano’s improvisation. This piece is unique because it allows each of the instruments to improvise to the meter running throughout the song. This is my first time hearing this piece and the work of Thelonious Monk. I loved this piece partly due to its vivace tempo, very lively to hear it when I am doing my assignments in my room. However, having similar beats throughout the whole piece does not create variety in this piece, it sounds similar from the beginning to end which makes it monotonous even with the improvisation happening along the way. I feel it is best to play this piece in a restaurant or just a type of a more relaxed bar where people can hang out and talk. 4. Take The A Train - Duke Ellington Orchestra a. This is my first time hearing this piece and I am just neutral on this one, I neither love it nor dislike it. There are multiple instruments involved such as the piano, saxophone, trumpet, cello, and drum. In the beginning, all the instruments are playing together which creates a polyphonic texture that serves as an intro for the vocalist. This also got a vivace tempo which makes it enjoyable. Similar to the piece above, I feel it is best to play this piece in a restaurant or anywhere crowded but in a less formal place. I also feel that there is an adjustment to the volume depending on the pitch of the sound played. High pitch sound will have higher volume and vice versa. 5. Samai Baghdad - Ahmed Mukhtar a. This is my first time hearing this piece and you can instantly tell there is a unique timbre to this piece. The different shaped guitar used portrayed a unique timbre usually common in Indian music or music around that region. However, the echo from the vibration is something similar to the Angklung that I used to play in Indonesia. This is a monophonic piece where the single melody is from the guitar itself. However, I really enjoy this music due to its presto tempo creating an uplifting atmosphere when playing this music. I feel this type of music is common in a social gathering where people can enjoy a positive atmosphere to meet and talk with others. 6. Spoonful - Cream a. I heard multiple instruments from this piece which includes the drum and guitar. This is my first time listening to this type of music and didn’t like it. This is a more rock and roll type of song that I also never enjoy due to the enormous volume that I can’t handle. Therefore, this piece has fortissimo dynamics that are common in rock and roll music. A typical venue or setting of this piece will be a concert house, but a more appropriate venue will be an outdoor concert venue considering the volume of the music. Despite having a large volume, this piece still has a moderato tempo which is a contrast considering the sheer volume of the piece. 7. In The Mood - Tex Beneke and the Glenn Miller Orchestra a. This is my first time hearing this piece and I can enjoy this music. There is some repetition at the beginning of the piece which is one of the fundamental elements of improvisation in music. Besides that, there is a lot of repetition throughout this piece which implements that the musicians are doing a lot of improvisation in this piece. It also has a vivace tempo which creates an uplifting yet still enjoyable atmosphere for the listeners. Besides that, I can also hear the timbre from the trumpet which overpowers the sound from the saxophone. Lastly, the ‘jazz’ swing is noticeable in this piece but is still something that I like. 8. When The Saints Go Marching In - Louis Armstrong a. I can hear multiple instruments in this piece such as the drum, trumpet, and piano. There was one moment in which the trumpet player plays as a soloist meaning no one else played other instruments. This is usually a time in which the musician will improvise in the middle of the piece, it is all up to that musician. One typical venue for this piece is a recital hall because of its grand atmosphere this piece can create. The polyphonic and monophonic texture at different stages of the music creates contrast which will create variations in the listeners’ ears. This variation is also one of the points which makes this piece enjoyable. The vivace or lively tempo is also another aspect of this piece that I like. 9. Rock Around The Clock (1956) - Bill Haley a. This piece includes multiple instruments such as the saxophone, drum ,and guitar. The title of this piece foreshadows the timeframe in which the music is produced which is around the golden age of jazz music and rock and roll. The vivace tempo makes it enjoyable and suitable for dance music as demonstrated in the video. There is a lot of repetition in this piece and the whole piece seems to me as just a variation and repetition of one basic melody. A typical setting for this piece is just a place in which people are celebrating something or are in a happy atmosphere or mood. The tempo and melody is uplifting and can cheer up someone’s mood. 10. Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry a. This is not the first time I heard this piece, especially the intro to this piece. One thing I remember precisely is I heard the intro to this piece in one of the Back To The Future movies when Marty McFly went to his parent’s prom party and performed the same intro on stage. However, I don’t recall the title that he mentioned on screen. This presto tempo suits this piece for party settings. The guitar timbre in this piece is noticeable as you can hear the pluck sound of it. There are also multiple repetitions in this piece and probably the introduction in the movie I mentioned above is just a repetition from the intro of this original song. I really loved the introduction to this piece and I felt there is too much repetition towards the end of this piece.